Get featured in Wisconsin State Journal

To get featured in the Wisconsin State Journal, you either give one of its reporters a Madison or Wisconsin story worth covering, send a letter or opinion piece that the opinion desk decides to run, or have a feature developed and placed with professional help. Whichever route you take, the story needs a genuine local angle, because that is what the paper exists to cover.

Pitching the newsroom yourself is free, but it is slow and the editors decide what runs. DNA offers another way in: we develop the story with you, write it to the State Journal's standard, manage the placement, and you approve every word before it goes live.

What the Wisconsin State Journal is

The Wisconsin State Journal is the long-established daily newspaper of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin. It is owned by Lee Enterprises, one of the larger owners of local newspapers in the United States, and publishes online at madison.com as well as in print. Its home in a capital city that is also a major university town shapes much of what it covers.

What the Wisconsin State Journal covers

The site is built around local news for Madison and Dane County: city and county government, schools, crime and courts, housing and growth. It follows state politics at the Capitol closely and covers the University of Wisconsin–Madison as an institution and an employer. Sport is a major draw, led by the Badgers. It also covers business, food, entertainment, health, opinion and obituaries.

How to get featured in the Wisconsin State Journal

For news coverage, find the reporter who covers your subject, read what they have written recently and send a short note with the facts and the local reason to care. The paper lists ways to contact its newsroom on its site, and bylines show who covers which beat. A pitch that names Madison people, places and consequences will travel further than a general press release.

Be realistic about the bar: the newsroom covers what it judges newsworthy, and a company announcement with no wider local consequence is unlikely to become a story.

How to submit a letter to the State Journal

The State Journal runs letters from readers alongside its own editorials and columnists. Letters go to the opinion desk through the route listed on its site, and that page sets out the current requirements, so read it before you send anything. Longer guest commentary, where the opinion pages accept it, goes to the same desk. In general terms, a strong letter:

• Responds to something the paper has published or to a live local issue.
• Makes one clear point rather than several.
• Is short, plain and written for a general reader.
• Includes the identifying details the paper asks for, so it can be checked.

What makes a strong piece for the State Journal

Local relevance is the first test. A founder on what growth in the region's technology and research sector means for hiring, a physician on a public health issue in Dane County, or a restaurant owner explaining a change downtown all fit. Strong pieces carry named people, local detail and good timing. If you are weighing a regional daily against a national title, the guide to tier 1 vs tier 2 publications explains how each serves a different goal.

How the process works

With DNA, the work runs in four steps. We check whether your story has a real Madison or Wisconsin angle and tell you plainly if it does not. You share the substance: what you do, what has changed and why it matters locally. We draft the feature to the State Journal's standard and revise it with you. Once you approve every word, we manage the placement and send you the live link.

How long it takes

Expect weeks rather than days. The angle, the drafting, your review and the placement all take time.